Why does God allow natural disasters?

Many people have asked the question "How
can God be described as a loving God if he
allows thousands of people to die as a
result of so-called natural disasters,
such as earthquakes or tsunamis?"

In the ever increasing 'blame culture' in
which we live, it seems that when something
happens we try to find fault with someone
or something else. Is God to blame for
allowing earthquakes? Do we blame God for
allowing people to commit acts of love and
kindness? Do we find fault with God for
allowing his own son to die a cruel and
horrible death, even though it is our only
means of salvation?

“I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create
evil: I the LORD do all these
things” (Isaiah 45:7)

Perhaps it is the scale of such an event
which causes people to question the very
existence of God. Is it that large
scale death concentrated within such a short
time span heightens our sense of
injustice? Surely all these people
didn't deserve to die?

This raises a number of questions:

If you believe in going to heaven at death, why are you aggrieved that so many people are now apparently living in paradise?

In what sense do people not deserve to die?

Why do we die?

As the book of Ecclesiastes tells us, one thing in life is certain: we die.

“The wise man's eyes
are in his head; but the fool walketh
in darkness: and I myself perceived also
that one event happeneth to them all ... And
how dieth the wise man? as the
fool.” (Ecclesiastes 2:14,16)

“All things come
alike to all: there is one event to the
righteous, and to the wicked; to the good
and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him
that sacrificeth, and to him that
sacrificeth not: as is the good, so
is the sinner; and he that
sweareth, as he that feareth an
oath. This is an evil among all
things that are done under the sun,
that there is one event unto all
... that they go to the dead.”
(Ecclesiastes 9:2,3)

“For that which
befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts;
even one thing befalleth them: as the one
dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have
all one breath; so that a man hath no
preeminence above a beast: for all is
vanity. All go unto one place; all are of
the dust, and all turn to dust again.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:19,20)

Why do we die?

“For all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of
God;” (Romans 3:23)

We have all committed sin, so we deserve death. Romans 6:23 tells us:

“...the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God
is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our lord.” (Romans 6:23)

“For as
in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all
be made alive” (1 Corinthians
15:22)

Whilst both these verses point out the
inevitability of death, they also allude
to the hope of being made eternally alive
in Christ. This hope prevents our lives
from being futile. If we have no hope,
what point is there in living?

In its conclusion, the book of Ecclesiastes
provides us with simple instructions as to
how we should lead our lives:

“Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep his commandments: for this is
the whole duty of man.”
(Ecclesiastes 12:13)

The best example of someone fearing God
and keeping his commandments is the lord
Jesus Christ.

“For I have not spoken
of myself;but the Father which sent me, he
gave me a commandment, what I should say,
and what I should speak. And I know that his
commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever
I speak therefore, even as the Father said
unto me, so I speak.” (John
12:49,50)

Jesus' obedience glorified God:

“I have glorified thee
on the earth: I have finished the work which
though gavest me to do.” (John
17:4)

By following the example of Jesus, we too
can seek to glorify God:

“Herein
is my father glorified, that ye bear much
fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. If ye
keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my
love; even as I have kept my fathers
commandments, and abide in his love. This is
my commandment, That ye love one another,
as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man
than this, that a man lay down his life for
his friends.” (John
15:8,10,12-13)

“For ye are bought
with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are
God's.” (1 Corinthians 6:20)

Jesus explains the idea of bearing much
fruit in a parable recorded for us in the
gospel of Luke:

“He spake also this
parable; A certain man had a fig tree
planted in his vineyard; and he came and
sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then
said he unto the dresser of his vineyard,
Behold, these three years I come seeking
fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut
it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he
answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone
this year also, till I shall dig about it,
and dung it: And if it bear fruit,
well: and if not, then after
that thou shalt cut it down.” (Luke
13:6-9)

In this parable the fig tree should
be cut down because it doesn't bring forth
any fruit. Its existence is pointless.
But the dresser of the vineyard gives the
fig tree a final chance to bear fruit.
The parallel for us is obvious. If we do
not give glory to God, we deserve to
be cut down, to die after all, we aren't
fulfilling our purpose. God in his grace
has given us the chance to be saved by
submitting to him in faith.

“For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of
God:” (Ephesians 2:8)

Why then do we consider it unjust that many
should die in a natural disaster? As we have
seen, Scripture tells us that we were created
for the purpose of glorifying God, a purpose
that we have failed to fulfil. By human reasoning,
something that does not serve its purpose, like
the fig tree, should be removed and replaced.
God defies this ‘logic’ in his love
for us. Instead of death, he offers life.

“For God so loved the world, that he
gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

We must abandon our own conceptions of ‘justice’,
and rightly so,

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your
ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9)

Such questions as these only arise when we place
ourselves at the centre of our view of the world.
This place belongs to God - he created this world
and he is at the centre of its purpose.

There is, of course, nothing new under the
sun. At the beginning of Luke 13, Jesus
is asked the same questions about two
recent tragedies: the local Roman governor
had killed several Galileans for offering
sacrifices, and at Siloam a tower had
collapsed, killing eighteen people. Can
you hear the cries: ‘What did these
people do to deserve death? Tell us,
Teacher – why did they die?
It’s not fair!’
What would you have said? Would you have offered comfort?
Tried to appease them? Or would you have said this:

“There were present at
that season some that told him of the
Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled
with their sacrifices. And Jesus said
unto them, Suppose ye that these
Galilaeans were sinners above all the
Galilaeans, because they suffered such
things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye
repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or
those eighteen, upon whom the tower in
Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that
they were sinners above all men that dwelt
in Jerusalem? I tell you, Nay: but, except
ye repent, ye shall all likewise
perish.” (Luke 13:1-5)

Why does God allow it to happen? Well,
why not? We're going to die anyway, so
what matters the method?

“The soul that sinneth, it shall die...
But if the wicked will turn from all his
sins that he hath committed, and keep all
my statutes, and do that which is lawful
and right, he shall surely live, he shall
not die... Have I any pleasure at all that
the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD:
and not that he should return from his ways,
and live? ” (Ezekiel 18:20-21,23)

“The Lord is not slack concerning his
promise, as some men count slackness; but is
longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any
should perish, but that all should come to repentance. ”
(2 Peter 3:9)

Knowing that we should, and eventually will, die,
we “account that the longsuffering of God is
salvation” (2 Peter 3:18) and make the most of
the life that he allows us in his mercy and love; that
is, if we wish to live forever with him on the earth
that he created as he has always intended, in his
kingdom.

We should therefore turn back to God (‘repent’),
reading the Bible for ourselves so that we can
learn of God's commandments and bring forth
fruit unto eternal life. We have a free learn to
read the Bible effectively course
which is designed to provide you with the
skills to help with reading and
understanding the Bible.

So what are our final thoughts? Why does God allow
natural disasters?

“Therefore hath he
mercy on whom he will have mercy
... O man, who art thou that repliest
against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why hast thou
made me thus? ” (Romans
9:18,20)

“Behold, he taketh
away, who can hinder him? who will say unto
him, What doest thou? ” (Job
9:12)

God gives us this choice: to live for ourselves
and for pleasure for a short time, or to respond
to his love and do eternally what we were created
to do. Either way, we cannot expect God to intervene
and extend or curtail our lives. What happens
after our death is up to us.

“Now therefore fear
the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in
truth: and put away the gods which your
fathers served on the other side of the
flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the
LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve
the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will
serve; whether the gods which your fathers
served that were on the other side of the
flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land ye dwell: but as for me and my house,
we will serve the LORD. ” (Joshua
24:14-15)

“Let us hear the
conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep his commandments: for this
is the whole duty of
man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)